ThermaCapture Sleeping Bag Removal

When you’re out in the backcountry, navigation is crucial. The right tools and knowledge will take you far, but a lot of route finding comes down to your ability to make the right judgment call. Should you follow that faint trail or stick to the talus field? Break for higher ground or stay close to the creek? There’s a myriad of decisions to be made and the right choice is rarely clear.

This brings us to another skill: knowing when it’s time to reverse course. This decision only comes after long hard deliberation and careful assessment of your current position. However, these decisions have to be made in order to get where you want to go.

We found ourselves in a similar situation with our sleeping bag designs that used our ThermaCapture liner. Although the liners add warmth, we decided that they were not worth the environmental, supply chain and financial costs. For this reason, we decided to remove the ThermaCapture lining from our Fast & Light bags. We added enough down that it would not change the weight ratings of the bag, but not so much that it significantly changes the weight specifications.

By removing the the liner, we will now be able to avoid the environmental costs of global shipping. Moving materials around the globe and country is not only expensive but it’s hard on the environment. To align with our USA Built philosophy, we are cutting out unnecessary logistics whenever possible.

Another major benefit is simplifying our supply chain. Instead of waiting for the liner materials to be manufactured and shipped, we can now do a better job of keeping all of our bags in stock and available for any campers looking for a better night under the stars.

One thing to note is that this change does not affect our sleeping pads. In our pads, ThermaCapture gives a significant performance boost and uses a different material that is easier to source.

We’re excited about this change and think that our bags will bring you the same value and performance that Therm-a-Rest is known for. The change will be reflected in any bags manufactured after November 2018. We’re so confident in these bags and the rest of our sleeping bags and quilts that we give them our Better Sleep Guarantee.